I was the beneficiary of a massive writing spree in the winter of 2024-25. I’d set the goal for myself that I would use the winters up here in northern Wisconsin to write. That’s what winter is good for, and lo and behold, the muse came to me for the most intense productivity in 32 years. And it was probably the most intense songwriting experience of my life.
My first experience was when I moved to New Orleans at 19 and right away got a nightly gig at The Wrong Place Saloon beginning at 1:30 in the morning. I needed material fast and the songs came to me during afternoon writing sessions in Audubon Park.
It happened again when I got the idea for the Packwood concept album around 1993. Those 11 songs came quickly. It’s probably that experience and this recent one that are vying for the most intense songwriting period of my life.
The episode last winter produced 14 songs plus a set of lyrics that I used to complete my most recent song, Gambler’s Lullaby, in the last two weeks. And I still have one more strong lyric from last winter to set to music.
The three episodes hit me at the ages of 19, 40, and 71. Last winter it was almost as if something in my brain shifted. Whatever it was, I’m happy that the outcome was a breakthrough in the songwriting arena as opposed to, say, an overwhelming desire to do watercolor painting.
